On April 2, 2024, my wife and I attended a presentation by David Grann at Southern Methodist University. Mr. Grann discussed two of his books: The Killers of the Flower Moon and The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder. I just finished his earlier work: The Lost City of Z.
The Man
He graduated from Connecticut College in 1989 with a B.A. in Government. While in college, Grann received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship and conducted research in Mexico, where he began his career as a freelance journalist.
He received a master’s degree in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in 1993. At this time, Grann was primarily interested in fiction and hoped to develop a career as a novelist.
In 1994 he was hired as a copy editor at The Hill, a Washington, D.C.-based newspaper covering the United States Congress. The same year, Grann earned a master’s degree in creative writing from Boston University, where he taught classes in creative writing and fiction. He was named The Hill’s executive editor in 1995. In 1996, Grann became a senior editor at The New Republic. He joined The New Yorker in 2003 as a staff writer. He was a finalist for the Michael Kelly Award in 2005.
In 2009, he received the George Polk Award and Sigma Delta Chi Award for his New Yorker piece “Trial By Fire”, about Cameron Todd Willingham. Another New Yorker investigative article, “The Mark of a Masterpiece”, raised questions about the methods of Peter Paul Biro, who claimed to use fingerprints to help authenticate lost masterpieces. Biro sued Grann and The New Yorker for libel, but the case was summarily dismissed. The article was a finalist for the 2010 National Magazine Award.
The Truthseeker
One thing that stands out about Mr. Grann’s work is his obsession with going the extra mile to uncover the truth. His commitment to risk his health and well-being, please see The Lost City of Z, to find answers is amazing. Even when the story seems to be over, Mr. Grann continues his quest for the truth, please see The Killers of the Flower Moon, and discovers new information.
Mr. Grann is an inspiration to other non-fiction writers. His efforts drive us to continue our research with a passion that may come close to Grann’s crusade. In an age of fake news and AI-generated events, he is Quiotic in his quest.
Thank you David Grann.
Follow Mr. Grann at https://www.davidgrann.com/.
Allen Mesch 